Police set restrictions at gas well fire

TAMARACK - State police are asking citizens to stay away from a gas well fire that's been burning since Sunday in a remote northern region of Clinton County near the Potter County line -and warn anyone caught trespassing on the property will be arrested.

The Federal Aviation Administration is also asking pilots to fly clear of the well, located in one of the largest natural gas storage areas in the United States.

The facility is owned by Dominion Transmission Inc., a major provider of gas transportation and storage services in the Northeast.

"Dominion representatives are manning checkpoints at all access roads in order to keep sightseers away from the area for their own protection," Sgt. Robert Tobias of the state police station at Lamar said in a press release Thursday.

The move is required so that Dominion can have free access to move essential equipment into the area, police said. The roads in that region are narrow and many are not improved beyond a gravel surface. Any increased traffic could cause difficulties for emergency crews, officials said.

Dealing with sightseers causes police and the company to waste valuable resources on patrolling the area, troopers said.

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a "Temporary Flight Restriction" for the region (GPS coordinates 41.28 north-7745 west). The no-flight area includes a three-mile radius for anything flying below 10,000 feet and violators will be prosecuted by the FAA, police said.

Clinton County Department of Emergency Services Director Kevin Fanning was was at the scene of the fire Thursday and could not be reached for comment prior to press time this morning.

The fire was first discovered by an aircraft pilot who was night flying, saw the glow in the woods and reported the situation.

"I believe that simultaneously, some of our employees also came across the fire," Dominion spokesman Dan Donovan said. "It was dark and there's nothing else out there, so a fire coming out of the ground is pretty much a beacon."

The Kettle Creek Fire Company, which has played an assisting role in the firefighting effort, has had some rough going in recent days.

Kettle Creek Hose Company and Kettle Creek Ambulance were the first to respond and continue to stand by at the fire location. The ladies of Kettle Creek were also called out to feed the workers at the scene.

The fire company, like many emergency response teams in central Pennsylvania, was also forced to deal with the recent damage caused by high winds in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

Finally, even as high winds from the remnants of Ike buffeted the area Sunday and Monday, the firefighters were dispatched for a structure fire at the Elliott Lumber Co. in Roulette. Before it was all said and done this incident involved 14 departments from four counties.

"The Kettle Creek firefighters are very helpful and we are very appreciative of their efforts and the Clinton County Emergency Management Agency for their support," Donovan said.

Dominion called Wild Well Control, Inc. of Houston, Texas to handle the problem of extinguishing the blaze. The company has delivered firefighting, well control and related engineering services to the world's oil and gas industry since 1975 and was the first company launched to compete with the famed Red Adair Company.

Wild Well has grown a great deal over the years, and in 1991, was was one of three companies contacted by Kuwait Oil Company to regain control of its fields of raging well fires following a destructive war in the Middle East.

Well control specialists were confronted with a number of new challenges, most notably safety concerns in the war-torn nation and severe environmental pollution concerns. Wild Well capped more than 130 wells in eight months.

It's control teams have fought cases from inland Texas to offshore India and Egypt. The company continues to provide firefighting, well control, engineering and training services to oil and gas operators around the world responding, on average, to over 50 well control events each year.

"Fires of this type are are very rare," Donovan said. "You need people with experience to handle them. This is one of the best firms in the world when it comes to handling this type of fire."

Donovan said the well leads underground to the storage system in the area known as the "Greenlick Field" which has 55 wells including the one that's burning, and has a storage capacity of 52 billion cubic feet.

The largest of those storage areas is in the Tamarack area of Clinton County. Dominion uses several former natural gas fields in the Tamarack area to store fuel, pumping it in over the warm season in preparation for winter, according to Donovan.

The Leidy pool, also located in north central Pennsylvania, which has a capacity of 102 billion cubic feet and operates at a maximum pressure of 4,200 pounds per square inch, is the second largest naturally-pressured gas reservoir in North America.

Dominion's wholly-owned Greenlick pool nearby is the highest naturally pressured reservoir in North America and operates at a maximum pressure of 4,240 pounds per square inch.

Company officials said they won't delve into the cause of the blaze until its out. Donovan said the company is concentrating on a "safety first" approach and is taking every precaution in pursuing a prudent end to the emergency.